the white wolf
by shewhodreamsoflifeandlove
Summary: AU In third year Hermione granger became a wolf animagus and often snuck out at night. Its now 6th year and things are changing drastically for her. Isn't there anyone who can share her love of running on a moonlit night?
1. Chapter 1

The white wolf

Summary: AU In third year Hermione granger became a wolf animagus and often snuck out at night. Its now 6th year and things are changing drastically for her. Isn't there anyone who can share her love of running on a moonlit night?

Disclaimer: do I look like J.

I ran down the moonlit path, revelling in the feeling of my paws thudding against the dirt covered path. Ever since my third year when I decided that I could put all my knowledge into finding a way to make my night time runs acceptable. Right from first year, I have been sneaking out to go for nightly runs in the forbidden forest and by now I know them just as well as the woods back home. It was because of my nightly runs that Harry and Ron had pushed and prodded me into becoming an animagus, purely for my own safety (and, obviously, because it would help them immensely with their own night wonderings that so often get them into trouble). With my wolf senses I learnt even faster than I would have if I'd been completely human. For it seams that because of the creature I had chosen and the time of my transformation (the full moon), my instincts had become more like an actual wolf than simply a human in an animals' skin, like most animagus. It was these instincts that tried to force me out of my human skin whenever there was a full moon and into the body of my lupine half. Even in human form the wolf lurked beneath the surface guiding me and often making my reactions quite animalistic. It sometimes scared me how close to the surface my wolf rested and how much its instincts could influence me and my decisions.

My thoughts on this matter were whisked away from me as a rabbit darted in front of me across the path. It was a young rabbit and it obviously had never learned to stay out of the way of larger predators like myself. Like a shot I went after it and quickly caught up. In a flood of pure wolf my mind went blank and the only thing I could really focus on was the meal in front of me. I caught the small animal under one of my paws and proceeded to enjoy my meal. I had skipped dinner to run and my stomach was telling me that it was time for food.

It was in this state of mind that I was met with a curious sight before me. In the bushes was another wolf, male, who, if I didn't know any better, I would have said was smirking. But, of course, wolves cant smirk so I quickly shook this thought out of my head and quietly growled; warning the wolf that this was my prey and that I was not going to give it up without a fight. It crossed my mind that it was strange that I had not smelt the wolf or that he had been warned away from my territory. This part of the woods practically had my name on it. The strange wolf crept out of the bushes and closer to me. My growls felt like they were being ripped out of my chest. My instincts were trying to tell me something but I was too busy battling with the need to flee that I ignored it. I knew that once I run it would be my wolf telling the male to follow and, as much as I do to encourage inter species friendships in the magical community, I do not want to try to explain how I managed to end up mated to an actual wolf if he ever caught up to me.

I was sure that there was something off about this wolf, but as I struggled to keep my paws firmly planted on the ground, I had no control over the part of my brain that dealt with logic. My tongue felt dry and my eyes were wide with terror. I was all wolf now, I couldn't control it. This wolf in front of me had me right where it wanted. I couldn't move from fear and it knew that.

By this time the other wolf had proceeded to circling me, ready to pounce. I made myself as small as possible and stayed low to the ground in a submissive gesture. It was me signalling the other wolf that he was the alpha. I knew that was my only real hope if I wanted to get out of there. I knew, from extensive research, and through my own experience with wolves, that the alpha does not like to be challenged and that the males are generally dominant in a pack unless there is an alpha female and I was pretty sure that this wolf would not see me as one of them. The other wolf seemed confused by what I was doing and cocked its head to one side and sat down heavily. I looked up at the wolf and backed away slowly. I was confused too; this wolf was not acting like a wolf. It growled as if to tell me that it hadn't finished with me yet. That was when I truly lost myself to the wolf within. I ran.

It was the single most stupid thing I could have done, except maybe fight. There was no way I'd win that one. He was almost twice the size of me. I knew that I had just practically offered myself to him on a silver platter. It was my wolf in control now and until I got my human self back in control there was no way I could begin to change back to my human form. I slowed my pace when I found that I couldn't hear the other wolf behind me. That was unheard of behaviour. Everyone knew that when I female wolf runs, it means the male chases. It's just the way it works. It is natural wolf behaviour. That's when it hit me. Almost nothing this wolf had done was normal. For one thing it smirked at me for another it didn't force me to be submissive, it backed away fro the fight and the last thing is that it didn't start the chase.

I came to the conclusion that I was dealing with another wolf animagus; it hadn't displayed any of the normal wolf behaviour. I had already guessed that the wolf was quite young and through this I then determined that the wolf must be a student and therefore an illegal animagus, much like me. I thought about who it could be, but realised that it could be anyone of the male students in the castle. Then, I heard paw- steps behind me; the wolf had just walked after me. It was definitely not a natural wolf.

I did the only thing I thought possible. I changed back into a human. It turns out that it was a pretty stupid thing to do and that the other wolf had the same idea.

I was sat in the middle of the forbidden forest opposite…

Draco Malfoy.

I turned, shifted and ran back to the castle.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: ok so I know that I haven't written in ages but for all of you who have added this story as a favourite or alert, thank you for waiting. I am currently working through a lot of home problems and depression so I won't update regularly, but I will try to make those chapters extra long for you all.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry potter. (I'm still waiting for conformation on my bid for Draco Malfoy though …*ping* _reading email frantically_ nope still don't own him *sigh*)**

**Chapter 2 **

As I arrived back at the castle, I was still in shock so as I shifted back, I realised that I had no idea if Malfoy would tell anyone or not. It only now occurred to me that by tomorrow morning I might receive a visit from a team of aurors asking about my status as an animagus and my lack of registration at the ministry.

I pushed the thought out of my mind and decided that if he told someone he told someone. 'And,' I thought, 'he can't give me away without revealing himself anyway.'

With that thought knocking around in my head I slipped into the castle, making sure I wasn't seen. I managed to get up to the fifth floor without being seen. I only saw someone once. Filch was in the trophy room; he was snooping around as I passed by but I managed to get out of there before he saw me.

I slipped inside of the portrait hole and breathed a sigh of relief that no one had seen me re enter the castle.

It seemed I had thought too soon as, when I turned around, there was Harry and Ron sitting on the sofa both with their arms crossed. It struck me at that moment that they looked like an old married couple waiting for their teenaged daughter to get home after sneaking out at night. I giggled to myself and they both looked at me like I was absolutely mad. They both stood up as though attacked to each other by a cable and gave me a frown that could rival Snape's.

"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN!" they both thundered. I shivered a bit having never seen them quite this annoyed at me.

"Um…aren't you going to wake someone up?" I stuttered meekly.

"We put a silencing spell on the room" Ron declared angrily.

"Um…" I didn't know quite what else to say. This had been happening for a while; they had been getting jealous and possessive and, if I was being honest, I was completely sick of it.

"Well, where have you been?" great, now they're acting worse than my dad ever was.

"And who have you been with" Harry and Ron asked.

"Wait a minute; you both think I was out with someone?" I asked, shocked that they thought I was keeping secrets from them, especially ones like that.

"We know you're seeing Draco Malfoy! We saw the both of you go into the forest! The forbidden forest, I don't even want to know how long this has been going on." Ron blurted out.

"Ron!" me and Harry exclaimed together, though for totally different reasons. I was shocked. So what if they'd seen me going into the forest and then Him going in, it's not as if I planned it. They've been waiting for something like this to happen I bet. Ron has always been the jealous type and I could never forget how awful he made me feel in first year so I wasn't surprised at that, but Harry; I thought he had some sense and wouldn't let Ron bully or pressure him into something like this.

"We were going to give her a chance to tell us herself first." Harry berated Ron.

"Stop!" I said as forcefully as I could, which, at that moment was about as scary as a hamster growling. Harry and Ron both turned to look at me. "I'm telling the both of you that I am NOT seeing Draco Malfoy." They both just looked at me and shook their heads and turned away.

They walked together up the stairs to the dormitories, away from me. When they reached the top Harry turned around and said to me, "Even in the face of the truth, you still lie to me, to us." Ok, that was beyond crazy. There is no way that was the same Harry who I met in first year; the little boy who would give everyone a second chance. The fame has officially gone to his head.

I screamed in frustration and stormed up the stairs to my dorm. I ran to my bed, threw the curtains closed and angrily wiped away the angry tears that threatened to spill down my cheeks, putting on my ipod and putting on one of my favourite songs to try to block out what just happened.

I sobbed into my pillow; realising that I had lost my two best (and only) friends, maybe for good. The weight of what had happened tonight crashed down on top of me, sending me into a fitful and exhausted sleep.

It was 3.30am when I was woken by the sound of the wolves that lived in the forbidden forest howling at the moon and the stars. I slowly stretched and got out of bed to look out of my window. I was instantly awake when I saw a dark figure running away from the castle, into the forest. My first thought was that it was a death eater and that they had killed someone. My thoughts where rendered void when the figure turned around to look at the castle, as though they knew that someone watching. The figure then lowered their hood, revealing a shock of platinum blond hair. As I was about to breathe a sigh of relief that it wasn't a death eater, Draco Malfoy turned to look directly at me. Even from this far away, his eyes bored into mine suddenly making it very hard for me to look away.

It was just then that another howl broke over the quiet of the morning and he turned away. I watched as he was engulfed by the trees and the darkness of the forest before I got up. I was going out into the forest, not only did I intend to find out more about the anomaly that was Draco Malfoy, but it was an uncommonly warm, clear night for an autumn night; the perfect night for a run. And, since the next morning was a Saturday and I was clearly not going to be missed, I would be able to stay out for the rest of the night and the whole of the day if I wanted to.

I pushed the window open and lent out of it. There, below me was a ledge. It was on this ledge that I carefully put a foot, then two.

It was several years ago that I completed my animagus training under the tutoring of professor McGonagall and at the end of my course she gifted me with a way of getting down from my dorm to the grounds of the castle; there were several ledges leading their way down the side of the tower that lead right down to 5 ft off the ground. The only down side to this method of getting out of the castle is that you cannot go back up it unless you are a small climbing animal and very agile. Since I am neither of those things I have to make do with sneaking back into the castle.

'That's half the fun; the chance of getting caught.' McGonagall had said to me when she presented it to me.

As I jumped down onto the ground after climbing down, I heard them again; I heard the wolves howling their sad song into the night sky. It was just then that I heard an answering howl. The reply came from much closer to the edge of the forest and I had no doubt that the howl was Malfoy's.

Starting forwards, I made it to the edge of the forest and beyond, keeping walking until I came upon the clearing that I always used change; it gave me a sense of home, and I tipped my head back to let the moonlight bathe me and let the transformation wash over me, to feel every molecule that made up my body suddenly spring free and buzz with energy. Then, I felt them all spring back into the form that was my chosen form, the wolf. I felt free and wild and, for once, not like a know-it-all bookworm. It was this that makes my stolen nights alone in the forest the best sort.

I quickly looked around to make sure that there was no one that would witness what I was about to do. I walked over to an old oak tree, one that had stood through many decades and would be there for many to come. Gently, I took a piece of the bark that was at the bottom of the tree between my teeth and softly pulled on it. The bark pulled back to reveal a hollow space under the tree that was hidden unless you knew it was there. I had stumbled across it when I had ventured back to the castle on foot and had tripped over it. It was in this hollow that I had put blankets and cloaks and even some dried food; for emergencies… this was my den.

I quickly snapped up a few strips of the dried meat and backed out again letting the bark snap back into place.

Shaking my head, I trotted into the trees away from my den, no one had ever seen it and I never intend for them to. In the far distance I heard the wolves send up a final chorus of howls and I took a breath to howl back to them when, for about 2 metres behind, an answering howl was already being sent. I spun round growling. There, not even bothering to hide his smirk, was the wolf form of Malfoy.

I crouched low to the ground before springing towards him and landing with the force of a ton of bricks. We fought for several minutes until I was sure I had won. Then, with a last burst of strength, he flipped me off him onto the ground and stood over me growling and baring his teeth. I closed my eyes, not wanting to see him standing there. There was a pause, then I felt him move away from me and a slight shift in the air.

I looked up, straight into the grey eyes of a human Draco Malfoy.

"Well, well, well, what's little miss Granger doing all alone in the forest," he sneered, obviously not going to let this go. I sighed and shifted back into human form. Savouring the feeling of the moment in the transformation when you become little more than a group of molecules all held together by pure energy, before you are pulled back into the form of your body.

"Doing the same as you presumably," I retorted, "going for a run." I was taking a chance by saying that as I had no real idea what he was doing. "And what did you think you were doing, sneaking up on me like that?"

"I was seeing why you were following me." Malfoy replied.

"Following you? Why on earth would I follow you?" I asked with all the contempt I could muster, which, it's fair to say, wasn't all that much at that moment, having had the wind knocked out of me by him.

"oh I don't know. Maybe your little boyfriends ditched you or…" he was cut off as I let out a cry of fury and sadness mixed into one and launched my self at him, knocking us both to the ground, beating my fists against his chest, all the while sobbing uncontrollably. This was probably that worst day I had ever had; my two best friends had rejected me, I was hurt and alone and I had ended up laying on the floor on the chest of my mortal enemy, sobbing, as he held me stiffly and tried to get me to calm down.

"For god's sake Granger, calm down! That's not helping anyone." He could tell it wasn't working as he suddenly pulled us both up, with me sitting awkwardly in his lap, still crying. "it's ok, shhh" he said as gently as he could. "Hermione, you've got to calm down."

That shocked me enough to realise where I was sitting and I leapt up, my cheeks burning. "you… you said my name." I stuttered.

"well, uh, yeah. You weren't calming down and I…uh." He forced out.

"sorry." I said quietly as I looked away.

"look, its ok. Just tell me, what got you so upset; it couldn't have been what I said. I always say that type of stuff to you?"

I looked him in the eye and then back down to the floor. "yeah, well, usually you aren't right." I turned around, before he could say anything and started running, shifting back to wolf mid-bound.

I found my way back to the clearing and slipped into the hollow ground under the roots of the old oak tree. Curling up in my nest of blankets I fell into a deep sleep. No dreams found their way into my head that night. The only sounds were the calls of nocturnal animals and birds that would soon be curling up in their own burrows and nests, sleeping peacefully until dusk the next night.

A week passed and I was no closer to getting back my friendship with Harry and Ron. They were ignoring me and obviously people had begun noticing. It was the Monday morning after the argument and at breakfast I had tried to talk to them only to be ignored. Decided to go and sit with Ginny and her friends to give them time to cool down.

As I sat down Ginny looked up and said "what do you want?" I was startled by her cold tone as we had always gotten on quite well in the past.

"What do you mean?" I asked her.

"You. You broke my brothers' and Harry's heart. How could you? Just go sit over there with the Slytherins, we all know you prefer them to us."

I sat there shocked until her and her friends looked at me in disgust and moved away to sit further along the table. I was so angry with Harry and Ron, they just couldn't accept that they might be wrong.

That whole week was the same. No one from Gryffindor would talk to me, the Slytherins threw insults and jibes and the other houses just plain ignored me. Even the teachers had begun to pick on other people in class rather than call on me.

I felt so alone. That is, until the note came.

It was breakfast on Friday morning and the great hall was filled with people talking and laughing. I was sitting alone at the end of the table when the post arrived. The usual people got letters from home and almost everyone got a daily prophet, but not one owl had anything for me. I had learnt long ago that they never do, nothing important anyway. It happened once everything had settled down to read their latest letters from home or enjoy some of their mothers home baking that was sent to them. This happened every morning, no change there. Only this morning, a large eagle owl swooped in after all the other owls had long gone back to wherever they came from. I saw the magestic bird soar down to the Gryffindor table and watched, shocked, as it came down to me. It stood proudly as I untied the letter from around its leg then helped itself to the toast on my plate. I opened the letter and read.

Dear Granger,

Stop moping around. It's annoying and stupid.

Meet me at the edge of the forest tonight at 11. Don't be late.

-D

Ps. Don't worry im not kidnapping you or trying to get you into trouble, I just want to talk.

I knew instantly who it was from just not what he wanted. It was down to my own curious nature that I turned the parchment over and wrote.

Malfoy,

If this is one of your tricks I will make the next 2 years of your life hell.

-G

Now all I had to do was wait.

**A/N: right so you probably noticed that this doesn't follow cannon, I have set the story as though it was the one and only year where nothing happened, sort of like a gap year. I don't think I will be writing about the war, but you never know.**


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